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Bishop v. State
Citations: 555 So. 2d 317; 1989 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 800; 1989 WL 143021Docket: 2 Div. 721
Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama; October 27, 1989; Alabama; State Appellate Court
Christopher Ted Bishop was found guilty by jury verdict of being in actual physical control of a vehicle while having 0.10% or more alcohol in his blood. However, the court determined that the charging information was void as it did not properly allege any offense. The information specifically charged DUI under Alabama Code § 32-5A-191, but failed to specify whether the offense was due to alcohol, a controlled substance, or a combination of both. The court referenced the case Smith v. State, which established that similar charging defects rendered the information fatally defective for lacking clarity on the specific nature of the offense. Although the state argued that citing the specific subsection of the code was sufficient, the court asserted that mere reference to the subsection did not adequately inform Bishop of the precise conduct he was accused of. Citing previous rulings, the court affirmed that a charging document must clearly articulate the conduct in question to support a conviction. As the information did not fulfill this requirement, the judgment from the Wilcox Circuit Court was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings. All judges concurred in the decision.